Impax Asset Management Group plc Has $10.57 Million Stock Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.17% of Merit Medical Systems worth $10,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMSI. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total transaction of $1,423,218.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. This represents a 38.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total value of $38,244.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,045,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $99,972,493.08. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI traded down $2.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $91.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 478,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,510. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.53. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.62 and a 1 year high of $111.45. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Merit Medical Systems Profile

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions.